Towering walls stood across from a river. Crenelations made up the top part, and soldiers performed guard duty. Intermingled in their ranks were officers of the cloth. The magicians and sorcerers held staves and seemed to take their jobs less seriously. They sat on wooden chairs on the wall and read books in the meantime.
A large drawbridge was lowered before the gate, going across the river, and a mass of people were trying to enter the city early in the morning. There were wagons pulled by gallis and stagecoaches pulled by other dino friends that Elanore recognized. Such as a triceratops.
Race: [Triceratops]
Age: 8
Sex: Male
Level: 8
Health: 10,700
Stamina: 11,426
Mana: 159
The vampire looked down from the trike to her hand being held by Naela. At the very least, their third wheel cauldron was stowed away. Ella no longer suffered the embarrassment of having someone else watching the two. But this situation is not much better.
A gruff voice sounded behind them. "Get a move on. Can't you see the line moving?"
Ella's eyes flashed briefly behind her towards the man, spotting something she didn't expect. He was a lizardman with green scales covering his body all over, and he had an elongated, crocodilian snout. The man wore thick silver armor, glistening in the sunlight, and plates of steel covered his tail in intervals.
The man clicked his tongue when he looked down at the two girl's hands. "Word of advice, don't do that shit at the gate."
Elanore reluctantly let go of her maid's hand, and the two girls stepped forwards, moving with the line.
"Mistress?" Naela frowned, her gaze flickering between Elanore and the crocodilian man.
The vampire shook her head. "It's alright. Part of blending in means we should abide by the customs here."
Naela sighed. "I don't like this at all, mistress."
"It's only for a little while, until we get inside."
"No," Naela said, gripping Elanore's hand again. "I will not allow this, mistress."
Ella's cheeks flushed red, and she felt the wyvern's fingers slip between her own. Naela's face pouted, stubbornly refusing to let go of the vampire's hand. Ah, how can I even say no now!? I don't even want to say no!
Another click of the tongue from behind them followed. "I was telling you idiots for your own good, you know? Some of the guards here are...well, you will find out anyways."
Elanore narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that they interpret their texts however they want, and that extends to my race as well. It's only gotten a little better in recent times. Thank Psevalis for that."
The vampire's eyes widened. Another follower of Psevalis.
Elanore looked at Naela, but she saw no change of expression from the goddess's mention. The wyvern was more keen on looking at Elanore and ignoring this man. The tender look in Naela's eyes when she regarded the vampire sent magical butterflies flapping through Ella's stomach.
The vampire looked ahead in the line instead. She found it a difficult task to stare into the face of her wyvern. It's like trying to look at the sun!
"Identification please," a guard said to a man on a wagon.
The man handed over a smooth piece of silver metal, and the guard handed it back, waving the wagon man through.
"You're good. Next!"
An older woman held the hand of her daughter, and the two wore hoods covering their heads.
The guard regarded the two with a hand on his sword. "Faces. I need to see them."
"It's okay, Taliyana," the woman said to the little girl. "Show the man your face."
Both of them lowered their hoods at the same time, and Elanore saw two feline ears on top of their heads.
The guardsman narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Did you two come from the fields?"
"No," the elderly woman said with a nervous twitch of her arm. "We are free."
"Do you have identification?"
She nodded and pulled out two small copper plates, handing them over to the guard.
He held them up towards the light. "Malania and Taliyana. I see, you two can go on inside."
Malania, the elderly woman, had a brief look of surprise, and then relief flashed over her face. She took the two copper plates, and she crossed inside. "Thank you," she said in a hushed voice.
The guard waved her off, finally meeting two purple eyes. He looked at Elanore.
"Next."
Elanore walked up to the gate, her heart pounding in her chest. She pretended that it had everything to do with the gate in front of her. Definitely not this tail wrapping around my waist!
The wyvern's tail slithered around Ella, holding her possessively.
What is this wyvern doing!? Anyone will get the wrong idea with this, and it is making my plans harder!
The guardsman opened the metal visor of his helmet, displaying a young and rough face. The military aged man was distinctly darker skinned than Elanore expected, and once again, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Identification?"
Elanore shook her head. "I am distinctly out of identification."
The black man sighed. "I can't let you pass without a form of identification. Do you have a form of payment? The guard station can let you through. Also..." his eyes narrowed, studying Elanore's face. "We can't exactly let vampires run free in the city, so you will be detained if you can't provide payment."
Elanore heard another click of a tongue behind them, and a hushed couple of words played on the wind.
"Dumb asses."
Though, this whole situation Elanore struggled to wrap her head around. She thought that if he recognized her as a vampire, he'd attempt to kill her immediately. In both of the cities the people didn't really seem to care that much that I am a vampire...
The lizard stomped his foot impatiently. "Hurry it up, man. My fucking legs are killing me. Do you have any idea how..."
"My apologies," the guard said. He turned and waved over another guard. "Take care of the line for now. I have to escort these two."
"Yes, captain!"
"You two, come with me."
///
Elanore arrived at a guard barracks inside of the wall. Once they were inside of a room, the man took off his helmet.
"Please take a seat. Both of you."
The vampire sat down with her wyvern and looked down at the scaly appendage still wrapping around her. "Naela...Your tail..."
Though, the wyvern in question tilted her head. "Hmm? What is it, mistress?"
Elanore swallowed, choosing to not ask again.
"If both of you are done flirting, I can do my job, yes?"
Ella snapped straight, her cheeks flushing.
"You can relax, madame. This isn't really an interrogation. You have been cooperative this whole time, so there's no need to be worried."
Yeah! That's definitely what I am worried about! It certainly wasn't how Naela pressed against her. Nor was it the fact that each breath was an inhale of the wyvern's sweet scent. Each second that passed made Elanore feel more and more lightheaded. I think I need another energy drink.
"I am Tal," the guard finally said. "Before I can let you both inside, there are some necessary precautions that need to be taken. First, I will need both of your names."
"Elanore...And Naela."
Tal pulled out a small sheet of parchment and took off his glove. Mana channeled into his fingertip, and a blue light shone. He wrote their names down using the magic.
"Now then, do the two of you have any questions while we wait?"
"Wait? I thought there would be more..."
"There is, but I have to wait for another officer to arrive. Each time we process someone, there has to be two guard witnesses."
"In that case, I do have a question. All of this was outside of what I expected. I thought that the people here were going to be...um, speciesist. But you let both of those girls inside, and you didn't seem to have a problem with me or the lizard. Why is that?"
Tal shrugged. "Some of the laws have recently changed. Even if there are guards who still hold old traditions, I choose to uphold the rules of Synnaralis..."
"Synnaralis?"
"The city." The man's yellow eyes lightened. "After you're let inside, please let me know if anything happens. If you have trouble with the guards..."
The door to the room finally opened, and another guard came in. This one was completely covered in metal from head to toe, but a familiar insignia was etched into his chest. Much like those banners with the mammoth, this guard also had the same etching.
Tal shot up and saluted the man. "Sir!"
"At ease." The knight spoke with a deep voice, the sound slightly distorted by his helmet. He turned his head towards the two women. "So, you two wish to have passage in the city?"
Ella nodded and took a golden coin from her inventory.
The knight lifted his hand. "You're free to go. Tal, escort them inside, and explain to them how identification works, so this doesn't happen again. The king will be notified, and an audience will be held with the upcoming dinner..."
Tal's eyes widened. "Sir?"
"You heard what I said."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, and put back on your helmet before you show them around..."